Against The Odds is a Premium AU Hunger Games RPG site.
We are preparing for the 123rd Hunger Games. District Thirteen has been wiped out after a second rebellion lost them their lives twenty years ago.

Evander had managed to avoid the training center for so long after his games. It was too painful to be around there with all the memories that place held of him and his best friends for all the years they had trained together to go into the games. They had worked their asses off, Evander wanting to impress his parents and to earn their love, and his best friend who already loved him so much that she wanted to go into the games just to be by his side. So they trained together for years and they had fun doing it as much as they could despite the trainers who tried to crush their childish spirits and innocence.

When it came time for the games they both went in and well, only he came out. He thought he needed to prove how great he was so his parents would love him and when he came home they did try to shower him with love, but...he had already realized he lost the one person who truly loved him for him while seeking approval from people who couldn't love him for just being him. Their fake love cost him their real love and he regretted it everyday.

Eventually though Mason had talked him into coming back to the training center to actually help out with the potentials...mostly because Evander couldn't stand seeing the youngest ones being forced to grow up so quickly. He thought maybe they would be more willing to win and fight if their spirits weren't crushed years before they ever went into the games. So, he came back to work with them in a way that he saw fit.

Today he was letting them play a game as a group. Something that he hoped would build their social skills and their teamwork skills as well to give them a break from traditional training so they could have a bit of fun. It gave him time to sit and relax, but it also meant it allowed his mind to wander to things that just made him feel sad. So, he looked for a distraction and he found Xavier, Mason's oldest.

"Hey Xavier. How is training going?" he asked the boy, trying to strike up a casual conversation to keep himself occupied.

Xavier was the kind of boy who woke up early every morning and went for a run, then he would usually go straight to the training center because he wanted to get started. He may only be fourteen years old, but he was determined to be the best he could be as far as training was concerned. It wasn't like he didn't take break sometimes, but a vast majority of his time was spent training. At least when he wasn't having to go to school. He didn't enjoy school all that much though, mostly because he felt like it was a bit of a waste of time compared to training if he wanted to get to the games when he was eighteen. A lot of others wanted to as well, and he had to make sure he was better than all of them.

Today he was at the training center after his run, and he was currently working pretty hard with some weights. A thin sheen of sweat had already built up on his skin, but he didn't notice. He was too busy counting his repetitions and focusing on his form so he wouldn't hurt himself. It was important to do these exercises correctly, otherwise they could do more harm than good, and that wasn't something he was willing to risk.

Because he spent so much time training, Xavier wasn't the most social of kids, and he'd sometimes heard others comment that he lived here or something. Maybe he did. It was a way not to have to deal with his mother too often. She would just tell him he needed to be here and training anyway if he spent any long period of time at home.

When he was spoken to he looked up only to find Evander standing near by. He offered the man one of his bright smiles, but didn't stop what he was doing, "It's going alright I think, I was planning on doing some weapons training after this." he said thoughtfully. He hadn't found a favorite weapon yet, but he knew he would have to. Still it didn't hurt to have a variety of things you knew how to use, so you could work with whatever the arena had.

Evander had noticed that Xavier spent a lot of his time here in the training center. He had observed the Gerard children over the years simply because there always seemed to be someone talking about them. They were Mason's blood after all and he was definitely the best and most sought after trainer in the training center as far as Evander was concerned. Xavier seemed incredibly dedicated to his training to be chosen for the games. Natalia far less so. She was such a gentle soul and Evander loved it. He loved to see someone balancing things out around here even a tiny bit. The youngest boy was still so young, but soon enough they would find out how he fit into all of this.

He just wondered how much Xavier really wanted this for himself and how much of this was because of his father and maybe his mother, whom he had never met so he couldn't say much about. Evander knew what it was like to throw yourself into this mess to please your parents and he often felt he saw bits of his own past in Xavier that might say it had more to do with them than himself. He had seen so many kids get burnt out like this...and to fall so hard when they didn't get chosen after dedicating their childhoods to this.

"Weapons training, huh?" Evander mused, looking back toward the group of kids who he dealt with here to make sure that they were still doing as they were told. They actually seemed to be enjoying the game he had set up for them. "Would you like a sparring partner?" he asked curiously as he turned back to Xavier with a gentle smile on his face. He needed something to keep himself and his mind busy. Plus, he was curious about Xavier.

"I am trying to get a little less rusty since I have been doing spars with the chosen tributes lately. I feel like I need to step up my game a bit again." Evander admitted. If he was going to be around then he wanted to actually be of use, not just an old and easy target for the strong, young kids.

Xavier worked hard, sometimes maybe a little harder than a child should. He worked out more than most and he was fiercely determined to learn a skill once he'd set his mind to it. Nothing was going to stop him from achieving his goals. Least of all his own shortcomings. He wasn't perfect by any means and he had no thoughts of possibly being any such thing. He was just a kid who was trying his best to reach the goal he thought he needed to reach. The goal his mother had told him multiple times he would be nothing without reaching. Unworthy of his name. Unworthy of being her son. Of course she hadn't said those words outright.

"Yeah, I need to get better with weapons. I still haven't found myself a favorite and I need to find something to specialize in if I am to get good enough at it." he said seriously. He took his work very seriously when it came to training. Maybe a little bit too seriously. "Oh! That would be great actually." he admitted with a warm smile. He was a friendly being really, but he was pretty tough when it came to actual spars. He never held back, the idea was to push one another in a spar, not to just make things easy on the opponent even if it was just for training.

"Well since I need a sparring partner and you need to de-rust, then I guess we make a good combination." he smiled, he didn't mind sparring with Evander, and he liked the thought of a proper challenge. Most of the kids his age were so much smaller than him and most weren't really much of a challenge anymore. He had often taken to training with some of the older kids these days.

Evander gave a small nod. "I remember trying to figure out what my favorite weapon was." he said. He had struggled with the task as well and it was simply because no weapon properly suited the boy who never truly wanted to wield one. In the end he just picked the he was best at which just happened to be a scythe. There was something about the way he was able to balance the weapon and the way that it felt in his grip that made him like it much more than the others, but he wouldn't have called it a favorite weapon really. "It's a pain to do, but...eventually the right one just draws you to it." he added.

"I think that you will make an excellent sparring partner and I hope I can be the same to you." He added with a bright smile. He was glad that Xavier actually seemed quite excited about the idea of sparring with him. There were some kids who only wanted to because he was a victor and well, he didn't want to spar with people who expected him to be amazing. He didn't fit the district 2 victor stereotypes, that was for sure.

He moved over toward one of the weapon racks and took the scythe from it, looking it over for a moment as he twisted it around in his hands. "I have always been partial to the scythe, though I enjoy the typical swords as well." he said quietly. He did enjoy the art of weapon wielding and sparring. He didn't really like actual fighting nearly as much. He missed training a little bit though...just a little.

"What are you going to go for?" He asked, looking toward Xavier with curiosity in his eyes. "What one is calling to you? Without really thinking about it...which one do you just want to grab?" he added. Maybe they wouldn't find his favorite today, but then again, maybe they would.

Xavier nodded a little when Evander talked about finding the weapon that was a favorite. It was hard to do he was saying and Xavier would have to agree. He was finding it difficult to find a favorite weapon, maybe partially because he knew he was going to have to kill with it once he was in the arena and killing didn't really appeal to him. He knew he'd do it once the time came, but he didn't want to. "I mean I think I like ranged weapons but they're not the most reliable in a situation where someone is coming up close." he mused, it was true, he did like ranged, but he also knew he had to find a short range weapon to suit his needs.

"Well I will definitely try my best." he said with a grin. He was not the kind of kid who didn't give things his all. So Evander was a Victor. So what? That didn't change the way he fought. He fought every spar as if he was out for a win and he'd do so now as well. You didn't get anywhere by not trying your best at all times. You got good by trying your best and then pushing the boundaries of what you thought you could do. That was what Xavier had learnt lately. You pushed and you tried your hardest, if you failed then you got back up and tried again. At last here you did. In the arena that wouldn't be an option of course, you would succeed or you would die.

He stepped over to the weapons rack as well and looked at all the options there. There was a sword that he thought might be interesting. There was also a poleaxe, but he thought the sword might be more appealing. He went over and ran his hand across the sword's hilt. Maybe that's what he'd pick, or maybe he'd pick the axe? Maybe that would be interesting? He wasn't sure and he stood there for a moment, hesitating a little about what to pick. He did want to make a good impression even if Evander was far more casual about the way he was speaking to him than his father usually was.

"I'm not sure, I was thinking maybe this sword, or the axe." he mused thoughtfully as he still ran his hand over the hilt of the sword. "The sword." he admitted when he was asked what weapon was speaking to him. "I don't know why but it drew my attention." he admitted. Was that important? That the sword was the one to speak to him? He spotted a longbow on another rack and it kind of screamed at him, but that wouldn't work in a close combat spar.

Evander smiled and nodded when he mentioned that he thought he preferred range. "It's definitely not bad to like ranged though. It is usually pretty helpful to have one or two tributes in a career pack who like ranged weapons." he said with a shrug. It was nice to have a mix in the group, but knowing how to use weapons in close combat would be needed no matter what. There was no guarantee of getting something ranged in the arena.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less from Xavier Gerard." Evander said with a shrug. He knew that the kid was one of the most hardworking and most promising in the training center. He was sure a lot of it was to please his father, and he didn't know the boy's mother, but he was curious to know how much of it was for himself. He didn't have the heart of a killer. Not the way that some of the kids who came through here undeniably did. He was definitely hardworking and determined though.

Evander watched him curiously as he looked over the weapons on the rack. It was interesting to see him run his hands over the sword and go back and forth between the sword and the ax. He was sure that he was struggling to get past the unique look of the ax and the simple, but beautiful and effective sword. He had an idea of which of the two he would pick.

"Think about why you like each of them. It's easy to get distracted by something different, but that doesn't always make it the right choice." Evander commented. He smiled though when he decided on the sword and gave a nod. "Perfect. The sword is your close range weapon then. Feel it in your hands. I bet it feels right. Like it was made for your hands." he continued.